Project Design, which we can think of as our projects’ “superego,” stands in contrast to the wild and woolly nature of narrative, itself–presenting with coherence, rules and potential problems. Working on our Project Designs at the front end can be enlivening, inspiring and revelatory when developed in chorus with peers and collaborators, as “problems” become our guides, and part of our projects’ ultimate resolution.

This workshop will encompass a discussion of outreach methods, budget, training/support, equipment, ethical problems, preservation plan, project focus, motives, sites for collaboration. and nontraditional interview design such as the “oral history chain letter” and the storycircle.

Participants will have the option of signing up for a 30-minute project consultation.

We’ll be joined by guest instructors Alex Kelly (New York Public Library) and Liza Zapol (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution).

This workshop, which begins with a review oral history theory, methods and practice, is designed for the newcomer and more experienced oral historian, well-suited for those mid-project or those dreaming of a project, ahead. No prior oral history training is assumed.

I am seeking to put together a panel for AHA 2020 titled “Historians Engaging with Processes of Transitional Justice.” Here is the abstract:

How can the academic knowledge and skills of trained historians help us tackle the most pressing challenges our societies face in the present? How can rigorous knowledge about the past and civic engagement work together to promote social justice and human rights? This panel brings together historians who apply their skills and knowledge to promote social change in the present. In particular, it discusses the contributions that the historical discipline can make to processes of transitional justice in different parts of the globe. The way we tackle the transition from conflict to peace has changed over time, and notions of justice have broadened. From an initial approach that focused on rectifying human rights violations through criminal prosecution, our understanding of transitional justice has broadened over the years to include truth commissions, reparation, and memorialization. Oral historians have played a very important role in pushing forward the right to truth of victims of armed conflict, for example. However, the relevance of history does not stop there. Some scholars argue that for there to be justice it is imperative to address the root causes, that is, the structural socioeconomic and gendered inequalities that underlie war. As such, transitional justice is not exclusively a legal or political matter, and history becomes deeply relevant to delve into its social and local dimensions. I am looking for papers that present experiences of historians actively engaging in peacebuilding efforts in post-conflict societies that critically reflect on the possibilities and challenges of this kind of work.

My own paper will focus on my experience leading a collaborative and multidisciplinary project in Colombia called “Historias para lo que viene”. This project is a collaboration of historians, designers, media-makers, and popular communicators in local radio stations that creates short radio pieces and podcasts that seek to bring together memory and history by integrating testimonies of reconciliation in the context of the Colombian armed conflict with local historical context about the local root causes of war. The media we produce seeks to enrich public debate about the causes of the Colombian conflict and, in particular, to move the debate beyond victims and perpetrators to generate reflections on the ways in which society as a whole has a role to play in peacebuilding.

If you are interested or have any questions, please contact me at c.munoz2017@uniandes.edu.co no later than Feb. 3.

The Southern Oral History Program (SOHP), housed at the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, invites artists, composers, audio/radio producers, writers, and community members to use our interviews to create new and thought-provoking short-form audio documentaries, sound art, sonic experiments, and aural landscapes.

Producers are encouraged to think creatively about format, structure, and style. Since 1973, the SOHP has recorded interviews with southerners from mill workers to civil rights leaders to future presidents, which are available digitally through the Southern Historical Collection at Wilson Library.

For our 2019 Sonic South audio competition, In Sickness & In Health, we’re highlighting SOHP’s major research project, Stories to Save Lives. Producers will choose from interviews with Southerners about health, illness, and medical care in their own lives, in their families and in their communities. Your creativity can help us illuminate the power of these stories.

The top five finalists will have their work shared at a live listening room in April 2019 at the CURRENT Theater in Chapel Hill, NC. Two prizes will be awarded: the Sonic South prize, and the Audience Choice award.

There are three rules for this competition.

Final work must:

Be no longer than three minutes in lengthIncorporate themes of health, illness, or medical care in the American SouthUse at least two different voices from this curated collection of 15 SOHP interviews.Entries are due on Friday, February 8, 2019 by midnight EST.

For more information about the competition, the rules, and how to submit, please visit the Sonic South website.